San Diego: Lithuania, Latvia roots, May 10

Thanks to my gen blogging colleague Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings, I learned that the San Diego Genealogical Society will have a program focusing on Jewish roots in Lithuania and Latvia, with speaker Dr. Franklin Gaylis.

Dr. Gaylis will share his amazing research experiences from his 2001 travels to retrace his roots to the Baltics. Many records had only recently become accessible with the downfall of the Soviet Union in the areas where his grandparents fled at the turn of the 20th century.

He developed an interest in genealogy in his early 40s when the Soviet Union started unraveling and the countries from which his grandparents had fled at the turn of the 20th century, the Baltics, became more accessible.

According to the announcement, Gaylis has read extensively on the history of the Jews in Lithuania and Latvia as well as the past 3,000-4,000 years.

Born in England, raised and educated in South Africa, Gaylis, a urologist, and his wife Jean immigrated to the US; his practice is in San Diego.

The meeting starts at noon Saturday, May 10, at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church (8350 Lake Murray Blvd (at Jackson Drive), San Diego. Meetings are free and open to the public; beginners are welcome.

The San Diego Genealogical Society was founded in 1946 to promote interest in genealogy and family history; offers a research library, educational and research opportunities. It also collects, preserves and publishes San Diego County, California genealogical and historical records.